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For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents - Family Fun Tips

Today is day three of the 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents hosted by the TOS Review Crew. I hope you had a chance to browse around the different blogs and posts, as there are over 50 of us participating on a very varied array of topics.

Today I would like to share with you ways to have fun as a family. When you homechool you have a lot of super advantages on your side. It is really helpful for parents who have changing work schedules, or illnesses to deal with, or are on the road a lot, you name it. One of the main attraction of homeschooling is the flexibility it provides you with.

Also, schooling sometimes can be a serious matter, and is often done by one parent. So, because of that is is really good to be able to interject fun in our homeschool days and have activities that involve the whole family. Here are some ways of having fun as a family, taking advantage of all the opportunities and flexibility schooling at home offers you.

Field Trips - As homeschooling families you still can go on field trips. The cool things is that you can go on the down seasons and days. I do not know about you but I do not like crowds, so being able to go to a science museum at odd times, when there is almost nobody there is bliss. Also, you can go on field trips when dad can, when he is on vacation or has a dad off. Just plan it on the schedule.

Games - My favorite! Ok now, granted a lot of families, homeschooling or not, play games, but homeschooling families have the flexibility of playing them anytime, and are not bound by time limits (a game can last as long as it needss to), or vacation days. Plus you get to play educational games as well. Instead of workbooks you get to play, yay!!!! here are a few of our favorites:

Family movie watching - Oh this is another one of my favorites. We love movies at our house, so this is something we do a lot. We do it at home and at the drive-in most often. Theaters can be pricey, so we rarely go. At our house movies are big affairs; we talk a lot about them, before and after. I find that they are a great way to expose the kids to what is in the world, while controlling, or guiding how to process it.

Sports - For families who love sport, this is a great way to have fun. Again, as homeschooling families, we are not bound by school hours, so sport can be included however and whenever. They can be part of outside sporting events which can be fun for the whole family. This is one way to involve dad if he is not particularly involved in the schooling.

Reading competition - This is a lot of fun for my son and his dad. My husband loves reading and one way to encourage my son to finish a book ( since he tends to procrastinate) is to have a competition between them. They both enjoy it and end up talking about it drawing everyone else in the family in.Read aloud - you can make these really fun through dramatization, and taking turn reading or acting out the stories.

Park days - In spring, summer and fall, these are really fun for family bonding. Walks, hikes, biking, picnic in the park, just pack and go. These are great ways to break up the routine of everyday schooling, and to enjoy one another's company.

Do you have other fun family tips and ideas? Please share them with us in the comment.

12 comments:

It is so important to make time for fun! We love the outdoors so we spend a lot of time at the beach, or finding places to hike etc. We also like to look for low-cost tickets to local attractions on Groupon and use them during the week when the crowds are low!

We are currently in the middle of public school holidays here so we don't venture out much choosing to have more fun at home. But lately we've been making a point to seek out all the different waterfalls that are in our area and visit them as a family!

I love all of these ideas! We try to incorporate fun, hands on learning into our homeschooling routine, but sometimes it's great to just kick back with a movie or board game and be a "fun parent" instead of the "teacher".